Abstract:

The texts in this publication, Rome – a Temporary Deaf City, is based on fieldwork done
in Rome, the summer of 2001, where the quadrennial Deaf World Games were held
(now called Deaflympics). This fieldwork is the first one within the anthropological
project «Global Connections in Deaf Worlds». The research team from Stein Rokkan’s
Centre for Social Science Research in Bergen consists of Jan-Kåre Breivik (hearing
anthropologist), Hilde Haualand (deaf anthropologist) and Per Solvang (hearing
sociologist). By the time we went to Rome none of us were experienced in doing cofieldwork
during such intensive events. The ethnographic paths were actually made
while walking through the streets of Rome. Following a short introduction, the first
text, by Breivik, is about some anthropological challenges related to fieldwork in nonconventional
settings. The second one, by Haualand, is a description of how Rome
gradually changed into a deaf village within two hectic summer weeks – and then, all
in a sudden, disappeared. The third text, by Solvang, is a comment upon Haualand’s
text. He is in particular focusing upon particular episodes, during the Deaflympics,
which points towards nuances in deviance discourse (in which deaf life is also a part
of). The fourth text, by Breivik, focuses on the close connections between deaf sports
and transnational deaf life. It is in particular the team-sports, such as soccer, which are
put in front. The final text, by Haualand, is a summary and a kind of location of
Rome/Deaflympics within the broader project. Here, we invite our readers to
participate in the project. This can be done by commenting upon and posing question
towards the project, the researchers and our texts, and by proposing changes or
revisions. You are also invited to supplement and broaden our work by providing us
with your observations and considerations. This project is strongly user-oriented, and
we are therefore inviting deaf persons to participate. We are in particular looking for
deaf persons with experiences from the transnational deaf scene, but we are not
excluding anyone because of this.
This publication is also available in Norwegian and on the Internet. You can
download the texts (in both languages) from the project-website:
www.deaf.linator.com. Here, you will also find more information on the project and
different ways to reach members of the research team.

Description:

A Publication within the Anthropological Project:
«Transnational Connections in Deaf Worlds»